Help Us Restore FunTime USA’s classic Merry-Go-Round!

Built in the 1950′s, FunTime USA’s Merry-Go-Round was manufactured by the Allan-Herschell Company. It was bought and moved to Mississippi in 1980, where it began it’s new life at FunTime USA. It remained constantly in service at FunTime USA in Gulfport until August of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed that beloved amusement park. While 90% of FunTime USA was lost to Katrina, we were able to salvage several important landmarks:

1. Humpty-Dumpty

2. The Giant Toy Soldier that stood at the entrance to Kiddieland

3. Miraculously, about 75% of the Merry-Go-Round was saved. We were able to save nearly all of the structural/mechanical aspects of the ride, all of the horses, and about 1/3 of the scenery.The Merry-Go-Round has been in storage since 2005, awaiting a second chance at life.

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With the Funds we hope to gather through Gulfcoast.BeeABacker.com, we hope to complete a full restoration of this classic ride. Money will be used to purchase vintage replacement scenic elements, rather than modern reproductions, in the effort to keep the machine as genuine as possible. The entire machine needs to be sandblasted and repainted. This repainting includes the 36 horses that adorn the machine. Our hope is that a variety of the Mississippi Coast’s Artists will show an interest in adopting a horse to paint, and in the process creating a lasting landmark for our area.

Once fully restored, we hope to put the FunTime USA Merry-Go-Round back into service either at Jones Park in Gulfport, or on the Town Green in Biloxi, so that future generations will be able to enjoy this classic piece of Coast history.